NIA finds three guilty in Valapattanam IS-related case

An NIA special court here on Tuesday convicted three accused in the Valapattanam Islamic State (IS)-related case in which they were accused of spreading the terror outfit's ideology and attempting to migrate to Syria.

National Investigation Agency (NIA) court Special Judge Anil K Bhaskar, convicted Midhilaj (27), Abdul Rasaq (34), and Hamsa (57) in the case and said the sentencing will be pronounced on Friday.

The court convicted the culprits under Sections 38 (offense relating to membership of a terrorist organization) and 39 (offense relating to support given to a terrorist organization) of the Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act (UAPA) and various other sections of the Indian Penal Code including Section 120B (criminal conspiracy).

The case was first registered at Valapattanam police station in Kannur district before the NIA took over the probe in 2017 after reports that over 15 persons from various parts of the district joined IS.

The court has now convicted the first, second, and fifth accused. The third and the fourth accused have turned approvers, NIA counsel P G Manu told PTI.

The court examined 234 documents and 143 witnesses in the case in which the arrest was recorded on October 25, 2017.

Meanwhile, the accused pleaded before the court to be lenient on the sentencing as they have been under custody for the past five years.